Rabbit Test
by Strawberry Wine
Summary: Usagi wakes up in Motoki's bed! What will her boyfriend, Mamoru, think when he learns of her in his best friend's room?
1. Chapter One

*Standard Disclaimer: No Sailor Moon characters belong to me and blah blah blah.  
  
Rabbit Test: Chapter One By Strawberry Wine  
  
"Oh, my head!" Usagi complained as she woke up groggily. "Too many drinks."  
  
Her brain was pounding and her body was numb. She groaned and rolled on to her side as she felt an arm lying beside her. Usagi relaxed a little and let out a sigh after realizing it was her own. Her sight cleared and the sense of touch slowly returned until she noticed something rather peculiar. There were three arms at her side instead of two. Two of them she knew as hers, but the other was much heavier, warmer, and encircled about her bare waist.  
  
Then she realized, * I'm.not.wearing.any.clothes! *  
  
Shaking with nervousness and fear, she tried to pry off the incredibly strong arm, yet didn't get very far before the person stirred with life. She felt them pull her closer to her and place a head at the back of her neck. A leg wriggled between hers.  
  
'Yep, definitely a guy.' she thought.  
  
He pulled her closer to his warmth, then murmured, "What a headache."  
  
He moved his arm that held onto Usagi and stiffened, then patted her stomach as if making sure it was really there when it growled at him in reply. Usagi groaned.  
  
Immediately letting go, almost flipping Usagi onto the ground, the male sat up and demanded, "WHO ARE YOU?! AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY BED?!"  
  
Usagi scooted to the opposite side and covered herself in the blankets; both hands clutched near her chin. Turning to face the stranger, she got a surprise to last a lifetime:  
  
"Mo. Motoki?" she stared at him.  
  
"Usagi?" he stared back. Their gaze never left each other as their eyes widened in silence and terror before Motoki asked, "What happened here?"  
  
"I don't know. Did you.?" she pointed to him, then to herself. "Did we.?  
  
Motoki shook his head. "No! We couldn't. Ah, why can't I think? My head is killing me."  
  
"Mine, too." Then Usagi pondered as an afterthought to herself, "What will Mamo-chan say?"  
  
"Who said we were telling HIM? You can if you want, but I'd prefer to live. I've kind of developed a liking for life." He clutched the sides of his head in pain as his body shifted into a more comfortable position.  
  
Usagi was irritated, "You've gotta tell him. You're his best friend."  
  
"Who slept with his girlfriend."  
  
"We don't really know if we slept together or not," she replied in a weak voice of denial.  
  
He looked up at her, "It's pretty obvious, don't you think? How about we don't say anything about this? He'll never know."  
  
She lowered her eyes, water forming at their base as the thought of lying to Mamoru came to her.  
  
Motoki sighed; he hated seeing her cry. "Fine, tell him. But I'm warning you what would happen if you do. He'll-"  
  
"I know what would happen," she interrupted him suddenly. "I won't say anything."  
  
Motoki sighed again. "Let's get dressed. Then we can-"  
  
A growl rose from Usagi's stomach. "Then can we have breakfast?" she looked hopeful at him with large puppy dog eyes.  
  
He laughed, grateful she was back to her usual naive self. "Sure." He scanned the room in search of their clothes, finding them on the other side. "You can go first. The bathroom's the first door to your right."  
  
She nodded and turned her bare back to him, standing and enveloping herself in a bed sheet, and went to retrieve her clothes, not noticing the longing gaze she received from Motoki as she pulled the sheet closer around her in a meager attempt to get a little warmth. In the restroom, she quickly changed and was searching his cabinets when she found a woman's perfume. Deciding it was better than nothing, she sprayed some on and checked her reflection in the mirror. The light pink spaghetti strapped dress she wore went down to her knees and curved vividly at her waist and chest. She sagged her shoulders at the lack of skin it covered. 'At least it's better than the sheet,' she thought.  
  
Motoki was waiting for her in his living room, now dressed in sweatpants and shirt. He offered her a cup of coffee when she entered, also taking from her the flimsy blanket. Usagi sat in a chair on the opposite side of the room from her boyfriend's friend. She looked down at the steaming coffee, then out the window, and then down at her feet, anywhere but at Motoki. Motoki was just grateful there was a table between them. Usagi took a sip of her black liquid at the tense silence that surrounded them before immediately spitting it back out.  
  
"What is this? It's horrible!"  
  
He smiled. "I think the toast might be done. I'll go check."  
  
She stared at the cup of poison below her, "Please do."  
  
~~~~~  
  
Two hours later found Minako on the sidewalk, a block away from Motoki's house. She turned a corner to see Usagi step out of his building and head in the opposite direction.  
  
"That's weird," Minako commented. "Usagi!!" she yelled.  
  
The blonde turned around and muttered something before smiling and waving. Minako hurried to catch up to her.  
  
"Hey, what are you doing here? You usually aren't ever up this early."  
  
"Well," Usagi hand went to the back of her head. "There's a first time for everything."  
  
Minako glanced at Motoki's apartment door. "Yeah, I guess so. Hey, I've been meaning to ask you if you want to go to the movies with Mako-chan and me sometime soon."  
  
"Umm." she thought of what might happen if Minako ever got word of what just happened inside Motoki's room. "Maybe some other time. I've got something I really have to go do at the moment." She started to move slowly backwards. "So, I'll see you later, okay?" She turned around and walked quickly down the sidewalk. In her mind, she responded, 'I'm so sorry, Minako.'  
  
Minako tilted her head. "That was odd." She then bounded up the stairs to Motoki's apartment and pulled out an extra key he had given her, walking up a flight of stairs to his floor before entering her boyfriend's home.  
  
~~~~~  
  
Usagi sat on a bench on the sidewalk, eyes closed and legs outstretched, exhausted from the amount of walking she had done already. Just the thought that she wasn't even halfway home yet, set a wave of fatigue through her. She gripped her forehead, wondering why she decided on drinking so much last night. "Damn parties. I'm never going to another one again."  
  
A deep voice interrupted her train of hateful thoughts. "And why is that?"  
  
She opened her eyes to the sound of the familiar voice. "Mamo-chan?" A red convertible corvette sat next to her on the street with her dark haired boyfriend sticking out of it. "What are you doing on this side of town?"  
  
"I could ask you the same question. I had to give Rei something she left in my car last night when I drove her home. By the way, I'm sorry I left early and had to leave you with Motoki. You had fun though, right?"  
  
"I guess so." She had finally converted enough energy to her legs to convince them to walk over and lean on the car door.  
  
"Good. I was afraid you wouldn't, being too drunk to even walk straight. Why are you still wearing that dress?"  
  
"Umm. I haven't had time to change yet. All my clothes are in the wash at home. By the way, how do you work the washing machine?"  
  
He laughed, "Your parents left town yesterday, I take it?" She nodded. "Hop in. I'll give you a ride home." He leaned over and opened the door for her, watching as she sulked down in the seat after entering. Mamoru pulled back onto the road. "Why didn't you go with them?"  
  
"Some one had to feed the cat. Besides, it's good to get the house to yourself. No parents, no brothers."  
  
"Ah, I see."  
  
"Yep. But Luna picks on and bugs me enough to fill their places and more," she pouted.  
  
He chuckled. "So, did Motoki take care of you after I left?"  
  
"Something like that."  
  
~~~~~  
  
A week later was when Usagi and Motoki first saw each other again. She was coming out of a store with a bag dangling from each hand at her side when she accidentally bumped into him on the sidewalk. Her bags and the articles in them spewed across the ground. She immediately bent down to pick them up, as so did he, and when she looked up to thank the person and to excuse her clumsiness, she found herself staring into a pair of blue eyes. After a moment they both looked away, mumbling their "sorry" 's and walking in opposite directions.  
  
~~~~~  
  
Usagi swung her school bag across the room and plopped down onto her bed. Luna strolled into Usagi's room to see her sprawled out across her comforter with her head hanging off the bottom of the furniture and her feet on her pillows. Luna peeked over the top of Usagi's head to look her in the eyes not more than three inches away.  
  
"Usagi?"  
  
No answer. Not even a blink.  
  
"Usagi?"  
  
Still no answer.  
  
"USAGI!!!" she yelled, licking her nose in the process.  
  
"AH!" Usagi perked to life again, instantly sitting up on her feet. Then, rubbing the wet spot on her nose, "Luna! What was that for?"  
  
"You were lying there in a dead heap. I was wondering if you had finally left me, yet," the cat replied in a matter of factly voice.  
  
She gave the animal a glare. "No, Luna."  
  
"Well, I know that now."  
  
Extremely annoyed with her, Usagi laid back down on her bed with her head on a pillow and arms folded across her chest. "What do you want?" She rested her feet on either side of the bed, legs crossed.  
  
The cat jumped on to the bed. "Nothing really. What are you thinking so hard about? I haven't seen you this deep in thought since your last dream about chocolate ice cream."  
  
"Well, it did have mint swirls in it. I'm just thinking about things, Luna."  
  
"Like what?"  
  
"Nothing."  
  
"It is too something or else you wouldn't be hurting your brain like you are now."  
  
"I'm thinking about what to get Rei-chan for her birthday."  
  
Luna jumped down, off the bed. "Fine. Don't tell me. But if you get in trouble, don't come crying to me."  
  
Usagi mumbled "Whatever" as she watched the dark blob drift out of the room before going back to her previous thoughts. Shaking her head, she thought, 'Maybe I'll just go to sleep for a little while.' A pair of blue eyes suddenly flashed across her own. She blinked several times before shaking her head at the unexpected idea. 'You're not supposed to be thinking of this, idiot,' she scolded herself mentally. She forced to think of another pair of darker eyes, but found her thoughts constantly wavering and wanting to go back to the day when she awoke in Motoki's bed.  
  
Memory Begins  
  
Motoki smiled at her, "I think the toast might be done. I'll go check."  
  
"Yes. Please do," she stared down at the black cup of coffee in her hands before getting up to join him in the kitchen. She found him cracking two eggs over a hot pan on the stove. Her eyes perked up at the sight and smell of the cooking food. "Ooh! Eggs!"  
  
He turned around, surprised she had followed him. "Do you want to help? It'll be done faster."  
  
"Sure." She took the spatula from him as he went to put the toast on a plate. She stared at the spatula as it was held immobile in her hands. "Umm. Motoki?"  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
She grinned, "How do you cook eggs?"  
  
He laughed at her. "Here, I'll show you."  
  
She gave the utensil a funny look before backing up so he could take it from her, only to find that she had bumped into what felt like a brick wall. Her neck turned upward to see him standing directly behind her. His arm wrapped around hers to grab hold of her hands while her eyes bored into his. She blushed and focused back on the frying eggs.  
  
"Watch," he whispered in her ear.  
  
He maneuvered their hands so the spatula went under the eggs and flipped them over. Her eyes widened, "Oh. I see. That was easier than I thought."  
  
"Now you try."  
  
She did the same motion as he, only she accidentally flipped one halfway out of the pan. He tried not to laugh at her. She growled and tried again, this time successful. She turned to smile up at him.  
  
"See? I can do it."  
  
"Yeah, but you're getting the broken one."  
  
She closed her eyes and stuck her tongue out at him, almost immediately feeling something against it. Her eyes flew open. She made a little gasp as another mouth covered her own and a tongue brushed up against hers playfully. Usagi found herself instinctively pressing into the kiss as her vision blurred and then grew dark. A pair of arms wrapped around her waist and hers drifted to his neck. A clock chimed the hour in the background, bringing them both back to reality. They disentangled themselves from each other slowly. A blush crept up Usagi's cheeks as she backed away, looking down from his smiling face.  
  
Memory ends  
  
Usagi opened her eyes and let out a long and deep sigh. 'Why did you have to do that, Motoki? And so well, too?' She rolled onto her side and brought her knees up by her chin. 'Maybe if I go to sleep, I'll eventually forget it ever happened.' Her sight blackened as unconsciousness surrounded her.  
  
~~~~~  
  
Meanwhile, Rei was leaning over the counter at the arcade Motoki worked at. She had been waiting for Minako and Makoto, and in the process was talking to Minako's boyfriend. She had noticed how Usagi would suddenly vanish whenever they roamed near the arcade and how Motoki changed the subject whenever her name came up in conversation. Intrigued this discovery, she decided to dig deeper.  
  
"Have you seen Usagi lately, Motoki?" she asked as he picked up stray dishes left by other customers, grateful at not having to look at her in the course of doing so.  
  
"Besides the party last week, no. I wonder where Minako is. She's usually here by now."  
  
"Yeah. Well, how did the rest of the party go after I left?"  
  
"Fine." He placed the dishes in a sink on the other side of the bar. "Odd that Makoto's not here, either, don't you think?"  
  
Rei mumbled, "Sure is. ANY WAY, What did you and Usagi do the whole night? I know Minako and Makoto went home soon after I did. Did Ami ever show up?"  
  
"Ami? No. Why isn't Ami here?"  
  
"She's studying."  
  
"That's right." He continued to not look at her.  
  
She was getting irritated and tried one last time to get him to talk about Usagi. "Are you alright Motoki? You seem tense. Does this have to do with you and Usagi being left alone at that party last weekend?" she said with aggravating calmness.  
  
He stopped, "No. Why do you say that?"  
  
She straightened up. 'Bingo!' "What's going on between you two? What could possibly be so bad that you two are avoiding each other because of it?"  
  
Sighing reluctantly, he turned towards her and looked her in the eyes. "You have to promise not to gossip this to anyone if I tell you."  
  
Her eyes lit up. "Sure!"  
  
"Okay," he leaned close to her and met her halfway across the counter. Then in a whispered voice, "After everyone left my house after the party, I took Usagi to-"  
  
"MOTOKI!!!!!" a blonde girl bounded into the room, interrupting them. "Sorry I'm late. I had to pick up Makoto. Oh, hi Rei!"  
  
"Hi, Minako," she pouted, sitting back down in her seat with arms now crossed. "Hey, Makoto."  
  
"Hi. Motoki, can I have a strawberry shake, please?" Makoto noticed how his shoulders fell with their interruptance as if a burden was lifted from his chest.  
  
'Damn. Just when it was getting good,' Rei watched as they continued to order drinks. 'I'll just have to think up more ideas, then.'  
  
~~~~~  
  
The telephone rang, awakening Usagi from her somewhat peaceful slumber. She stumbled off the bed and walked over to the phone muttering under her breath, "Please don't be Mamo-chan. Please don't be Mamo-chan. Please don't be." She picked up the phone.  
  
"Usagi?" a voice questioned on the other end at the sudden silence of rings.  
  
'Crap.' "Yeah?"  
  
"What do you plan on doing tonight?" her boyfriend asked.  
  
Yawning, she replied, "Probably sleep. Why?"  
  
"Well, how about you and I go out to eat instead?"  
  
Usagi perked up, "Food?"  
  
"Yeah. I feel bad about leaving you with Motoki last weekend. I want to make it up to you."  
  
"You don't have to. Really. You are in no way in debt to me."  
  
"Yes I am. I'm picking you up at seven, okay?"  
  
She sighed, knowing it would be pointless to argue with him. "Alright."  
  
After saying their good byes, Usagi wondered how she would be able to keep from lying to Mamoru without giving herself away. All last week, she had the excuse of school as to why she didn't go out with him, but this time was different. She wandered back into her room and looked at her clock. "Two and a half hours 'til death." 


	2. Chapter Two

*Sorry it took so long for this chapter to be put up! I'll try not to put that much time between the others, k? Thanks! ^_^v.  
  
  
  
Rabbit Test: Chapter Two  
  
  
  
A bell rang.  
  
Usagi checked herself in a mirror before opening the door to Mamoru. Her white short sleeved, V neck top with the short jean skirt where carefully selected to compliment her hair and eyes.  
  
Mamoru stepped inside, admiring how she looked. "Are you ready to go?"  
  
She smiled at him while opening the closet door for a jacket. "Yep. Where are we going?"  
  
"I was thinking mini-golf then food."  
  
"Where is mini-golfing available after five 'o clock?" She accepted his help in putting on the coat and locked the door behind them as they left.  
  
"It's a Friday night, Odango. There's plenty of places."  
  
When they reached their destination, awestruck Usagi stared at the numerous neon lights and people that populated the courses. "I never noticed how busy it gets at night," she commented.  
  
Her boyfriend laughed and paid for the equipment while she was preoccupied. Then when he was finished, "Ready to lose?"  
  
"Lose to you? Only when you're sleeping. Let's go." She grabbed a club and ball from him and strolled onto the green path ahead.  
  
Twenty minutes later, Usagi was ten points behind and pleading with her club to hit the ball into the hole. She looked at the next obstacle of a windmill rotating to cover up the tiny path that led to the hole and sighed. Mamoru couldn't help but chuckle at the look of displeasure and determination on her face.  
  
"Don't hit it too hard," he warned her. "It'll go off course."  
  
She muttered something under her breath. Aiming, she took a large swing and hit the ball, only to have it fly at the windmill and bounce off the center of it, projecting it in the opposite direction of the hole. Usagi groaned inwardly as she watched it soar to the other end of the golf course, barely missing several bodies in the process. Eventually it stopped itself on a young man's head.  
  
She bounded towards the poor guy she hit to apologize immediately. As she neared from behind, she saw a blonde girl crouched over him as he sat dazed on the ground with the ball beside him.  
  
"I'm so sorry," Usagi began, picking up her weapon. "I didn't mean to-"  
  
"It's okay," he interrupted, rubbing his head. "No real damage was done. At least not on purpose."  
  
The girl looked up at her and smiled before recognition took over her face. "Oh, Usagi! It was you! Well that explains everything."  
  
Usagi was surprised. "Minako? What are you doing here with. Eck! Motoki!"  
  
He turned around to face her and made the same amazed face as she. "Usagi!"  
  
She laughed nervously, "We seem to be running into each other a lot."  
  
"Yeah. Maybe a little too much."  
  
Minako was about to ask what he meant when another body roamed up to them. "Hi Mamoru."  
  
"Hey there. Motoki, are you okay?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine."  
  
"Sorry about that. Usagi tends to do many things without thinking."  
  
Usagi glared at him while forming a revenge plot in her head for that comment.  
  
"Like I said, it's okay. It didn't hurt too much, anyway." With Minako's help, Motoki tried standing up.  
  
The pig-tailed blonde looked at him like he was crazy. "You just got hit in the head with a golf ball. How does that not hurt?"  
  
"I probably deserved it one way or another."  
  
"Huh? Why?"  
  
He lifted his head, staring her in the eye. Usagi finally understood and looked away from his gaze and everyone else's eyes. A slight blush arose on her cheeks. "No, it's not all your fault," she barely whispered.  
  
Motoki also looked away.  
  
Minako and Mamoru looked back and forth between the two for several seconds in silence, then at each other. Both shrugged in confusion.  
  
Finally, Motoki's girlfriend broke the uncomfortable stillness. "Hey, why don't we all play golf together? It'll be fun."  
  
"Yeah, why not?" Mamoru also spoke. Yet, he made a mental note to ask Usagi a question later.  
  
For the rest of the game, the two groups joined up and played with ease after the first ten minutes passed. But no matter how many jokes were made, Minako did not miss the fact that Motoki and Usagi didn't talked to each other directly.  
  
  
  
After the eighteenth hole and good byes were said, Usagi jumped into Mamoru's car as they drove to a nearby café. In the middle of the meal, Mamoru casually asked, "What do you think Motoki meant when he said he deserved to be hit on the head?"  
  
Usagi stopped poking at her food suddenly. "I don't know." Her head was positioned just low enough so that her eyes were concealed behind her bangs. "He often says some of the weirdest things. He could've been talking about anything."  
  
"You're right." Mamoru sighed, "Sorry I brought it up."  
  
She raised her head. "Why?"  
  
"I guess I had some crazy thought that there was something going on between you and him."  
  
"How did you get that idea?"  
  
"Well, the way you've been avoiding me lately and how there was that silence tonight when you two were talking. I dunno. Maybe I'm just paranoid."  
  
She smiled at him. "Don't worry. There's nothing going on between him and me. He was probably talking more to himself than to any one person tonight."  
  
"Yeah, but I wonder what it was he felt so guilty about. I've known him for years and we usually tell the other if something's bothering us. Oh, well. That's for another day, right?" he tried to change subjects.  
  
"Right." She silently sighed to herself. 'That was close.'  
  
After a few moments passed, her boyfriend interrupted her thoughts, "I'd probably better take you home now, Usa-chan. It's getting pretty late."  
  
  
  
As Usagi unlocked her door to her house, she turned on a light and welcomed Mamoru inside, shutting the door behind him. "Do you want a drink or something to keep you awake while you drive home?"  
  
"No, that's okay. I'd better be going, anyway. I've got to work early tomorrow morning." He gave her a light kiss on her mouth before opening and walking out the door. "I'll talk to you tomorrow night, okay?"  
  
"Alright." She stood by the door and watched him drive down the street, waving after him until he was out of sight. Slowly, she closed the door and let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding, shrugging her shoulders to rid herself of tension. Strolling through the silent house, Usagi noticed a light blinking on the answering machine. Pressing the button next to it, she listened to the message while putting away her jacket.  
  
"Usagi?" the message began. "It's Rei." Usagi thought she heard a small sniffing sound, but decided against it. "I really need to talk to you. Come over here as soon as you can. There's something important I need to tell you." A beep signaled the end of the message.  
  
By this time, the blonde was standing in front of the machine, brows together in confusion. 'What would be so important that she felt she had to call at eleven at night to tell me?' Picking up the phone, she decided to dial her friend's number.  
  
It rang. And rang. And rang. And rang. Five minutes later, Usagi hung up the phone. "Rei needs to get an answering machine." Then yawning, she added to herself, "I'll call in the morning if she doesn't freak out before then."  
  
  
  
The next morning found Usagi knocking on Rei's door impatiently. After calling the temple three times and getting no answer, she decided on coming over. Opening the door she looked around and found the hallway empty.  
  
"Hello?" she called. "Rei? Yuuchirou? Anybody home?" There was no noise.  
  
Changing into slippers, she entered the house and wandered around before coming to Rei's door. A pile of uneaten trays of cold food sat just outside the door. The tones inside halted her knock. It sounded like crying.  
  
"Rei? Is that you? It's Usagi. I'm coming in, okay?"  
  
No answer.  
  
Usagi entered the room. It was dark and all the shades were drawn. The floor was covered in clothes and pieces of a shattered lamp. The only way Usagi was able to find her dark haired companion was by the small sounds coming from the far left corner. Rei sat crouched on the floor with her hair tangled and knees drawn up to her face, arms wrapped around them. Usagi was next to her in an instant.  
  
"Rei-chan! What happened to you?!"  
  
Rei looked up at the blonde's concerned face. "Oh, Usagi. I did something horrible. I'm so sorry."  
  
Usagi hugged her. "It's okay. It can't be that bad."  
  
"Yes it is. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."  
  
"What is it?"  
  
Rei sobbed into her friend's arms without replying.  
  
Trying to think of what would make her so upset, Usagi offered suggestions as to what might've gone wrong. "Did your grandfather die?"  
  
"No," came a meek response.  
  
"Was it something Yuuchirou did?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Did you fail a test or something?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Then what is it?"  
  
"I."  
  
"You what?"  
  
"I. I'm pregnant, Usagi." 


	3. Chapter Three

"You're WHAT?!"

"I'm pregnant, Usagi!" Rei shouted again at her, tears running down her face.

"Are you sure?" Usagi was shocked, to say the least.

Rei looked at her like she was crazy. The blonde's eyes were popping out of her head and her mouth was gaping open so much, she thought it was going to fall to the floor. Yep... crazy. "Of course I'm sure! I only took 16 tests! And they're all blue, or have two lines instead of one, or say 'pregnant' or WHATEVER!" Rei bowed her head back down to her knees and started crying again as the thought of her being a mother entered her head again for the umpteenth time that day.

Usagi suddenly had a thought. "Who... who else's?"

The brunette lifted her scraggly hair and gazed upon her friend. Usagi finally got a good look at her in that lightless room. She had apparently not slept for quite a few days and had developed dark semi-circles under her already dark and blood-shot eyes. Her clothes were torn and hadn't been washed in a while as well as her hair. Rei looked up at her with large, sad eyes and her whole body seemed to sag as she just burst into tears again, this time harder than before.

Usagi enveloped the poor girl in her arms and tried her best to comfort her, although got a feeling it wasn't really working. Trying to hug a person with their knees up to their chest while in a corner of a dark room didn't really work when you yourself are small. On top of that, she didn't know what to say, either. So she started with what everyone else says when something unexpected happens.

"It's okay... It's going to be alright."

Rei shook her head, still buried in her knees and unkempt hair. She whimpered, "No. No, it's not. I have to get rid of it."

"What? Well, that is ultimately your choice..."

"He doesn't know," she whispered. "I have to. He CAN'T know."

"Okay... But you know that your friends are here for you, right? Whatever you decide is up to you, but we'll be here to support you no matter what." Usagi hugged Rei tighter, ignoring the awkwardness of it. "Personally, I think you'd be a good mommy!" Usagi smiled. "I mean, you take care of me all the time!"

Rei laughed and choked back a sob. She looked up and wiped her face with her sleeves, sniffling. "Only you could think of that at a time like this."

Usagi's stomach growled – right on time.

"And food, I guess," Rei added, rolling her tired eyes.

"So, have you made a final decision of what to do yet?" Usagi prodded.

Rei sighed deeply. "No idea." She couldn't tell him. It would kill him and everything he stood for. Of course, it would also kill his girlfriend. She had to get rid of it... Didn't she?

"Okay then." Usagi stood. "How about we forget about it for right now and I'll make you lunch?!"

"You? Cook? No thanks. Last time you almost blew up my kitchen!"

The embarrassed blonde raised her hand to the back of her head and gave a nervous laugh. "Hey! I'm learning! I know how to cook eggs now, at least."

"That, in itself, is a miracle I gotta see." Usagi helped her friend off the floor and wrapped her arms around her in a tight hug. "Come on," Rei said, pulling away softly. "Let's see what you've got."

Usagi bounded down the sidewalk, leaving Rei in a bit of a better state of mind. She was happy to be able to help her friend, if even just a little, but she just remembered she never got to find out who it belonged to. She paused for a second considering going back to find out, but decided against it. She didn't want to see Rei cry again. It's not something that happened often and she definitely didn't want it to happen again. She'd ask later.

She picked up her pace again, but only to a slow stroll back towards her house. Luna would be waiting on her, wondering where she's _"run off to this time!"_ She could hear her now. Great. But there wasn't anywhere else really to go. She lowered her head down a little, thinking of someone else she might be able to visit. After all, it was such a gorgeous day outside; she should share it with someone, right? Right. But who?

She didn't really want to see Mamo-chan. She still felt guilty. It could've not happened. She could've just _happened_ to wake up naked next to Motoki, not doing anything from the night before... _Yeah, right..._ If she didn't believe it, neither would he. And she DEFINITELY couldn't go see Minako, because she'd be with Motoki. Ami's studying on something, as usual, and studying just wasn't her thing. Her stomach growled.

"But I just ate!" She looked down at it.

"You can't possibly be hungry again, can you?!" A voice interrupted her thoughts.

She stopped dead in her tracks and looked up suddenly to realize she walked quite a distance away and had ended up on a very familiar block with a familiar doorway to her right and startlingly familiar blue eyes looking back at her.

"Mo... Motoki?"

He was dressed in blue jeans and jogging shoes, but that was it. He carried two sacks of groceries and apparently had caught her talking to herself while going up the stairs to his apartment. He flung one plastic sack over his shoulder and turned towards her, exposing most of his muscular, tanned chest in the process, and smiled. She smiled back before she realized what she was doing.

He was turning to go back down the steps when the bag over his shoulder caught on the railing behind him, ripping the bag open. Various boxed foods and packages fell down the stairs and towards the street. "Man...," Motoki groaned.

Usagi rushed forward to grab the small package of noodles closest to the road before it could go any farther and decided to help him pick up the rest of the mess along the way back. When she met up with him in the middle of the used-to-be mess, her arms were full of noodles, dry ingredients, and what looked like tofu. _Yuck._

Motoki quickly unlocked his door and invited her to come inside, deciding to close it once they got the groceries situated.

"Here. You can set them here," he cleared off a section on the kitchen table that was covered in paper and sat his other bag in a chair next to them.

Usagi opened her arms wide, letting everything drop to the surface underneath. Most of the items didn't make it there, for as soon as they touched the table, they immediately rolled, bounced, or fell off. She paused realizing what she'd done and went to pick them back up. She smiled up at him, "Oops... Heh heh... Don't worry, I'll pick 'em up!"

Motoki rolled his eyes, but laughed at her. "I said set them, not drop them, you goofball." He knelt down and began to help her. Once everything was put back on top, they both began to rise back onto his feet, but Usagi miscalculated the distance and bumped her head on the underneath side of the table.

Motoki bent back down. "Are you okay?"

"Oww! That one really hurt!" She rubbed her head and winced from the pain.

A smile spread across his face and he couldn't help but burst out laughing. "You are truly the most ungraceful person I've ever met."

She peaked out at him with eyes still partially closed. "Yeah. Thanks."

He touched her elbow softly with one hand and placed her hand in his with the other. He helped her to her feet, next to the table this time.

"Thanks," she said softly. She looked up at him as he gazed down at her. She realized her hand was still holding on to his and apologized. "Oh, sorry!"

"It's alright. Feel better at all?" he said casually, as if it hadn't been uncomfortable.

She remembered the bump, making the pain come back a little. Nothing ever seems to hurt until you think about it. "A little."

He leaned over her, lightly kissing the top of her head like she were a small child. She was suddenly aware of how close she was to his chin and neck in that moment; and also how easily his muscles seemed to move in that one little action. When he drew back, he looked down at her and grinned, ignorant of her thoughts. "There. Feel better now?"

She nodded, "Mmhmm... " She moved her foot one step back from him, but again, forgot about the table and almost fell backwards onto it. She reached out and grabbed the upper half of Motoki's arms to catch herself. Motoki grasped onto her waist, bringing her back towards him before she fell, sliding one arm behind her back to steady her, pulling her closer to him. She stumbled forward then, putting one hand in front her on his firm chest to become stable.

Usagi looked up at him, embarrassed again. "Yep… graceful!" She laughed.

This time though, he didn't laugh. "But, that's why I like you so much."

She stopped laughing. "…What?"

He bent over her, coming closer. She tried to back up, but remembered how much good that did her earlier. There was nowhere she could go to get away. But… she didn't want to get away. She looked up into his face coming closer, eyes wide, scared at what might come next.

"I like you, Usagi. I just never told you before because I thought you'd run away from me." He had a sad expression on his face similar to that of a child whose toy was just taken away. He made her want to comfort him and tell him she'd never run away from him.

"I won't run away, but I can't like you. You're my friend, Motoki. Not my boyfriend."

"But I want to be."

That took her off-guard. And he was still coming closer. She could feel his heart beat speed up beneath her hand on his warm chest and realized her own was doing the same. He lowered his mouth to hers and their lips brushed lightly, hesitantly, for a second before he pressed a little firmer when she didn't pull away. Motoki pulled away a moment later, still holding Usagi close to him.

He loosened his grasp on her, backing up a little to allow her to move away from him. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have," he rambled. "I wasn't even thinking."

She took that last step to close the gap between them without even thinking about it and wrapped one arm around his shoulders and the other on the back of his neck, tugging him back down to her, pressing her lips tightly against his. He immediately drew her body close to his again, his hands steadfastly on the upper portion and small of her back.

Footsteps sounded in the hall.

They both broke away from each other abruptly enough to make Usagi stumble against the table once more, but this time not falling over.

Her eyes widened just a bit at the look of shock on his face. "Mamoru?!"


End file.
